12 mei 2019 – It's an internal affair. This has been one of the official answers most heard in the last year and a half in Brussels when the institutions have been questioned about Catalonia. However, an EU-Catalonia Dialogue group has also been set up by several MEPs and even a plenary debate was held as a result of police violence on the Catalan independence referendum day.

2 mei 2019 – Pro-independence civil society body ANC (Catalan National Assembly) will hold its annual meeting at the Tarraco Arena in Tarragona this Sunday. The event will include live connections with Carles Puigdemont and his minister Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí in Waterloo and it will be attended by Quim Torra. Today, we have learnt details of the body's proposed "Road Map", to be voted on by members this weekend.

26 april 2019 – The European Union has urged Spain to analyze why citizens’ faith in judicial independence has dropped from last year, following a report which ranks Spain as the fourth worst among the 28-member EU.The reasons for the decrease should be better analyzed on the domestic territory, said Věra Jourová, the European commissioner for justice. It's up to Spanish experts to look into all figures and come with an explanation for this trend.

26 april 2019 – The trial that has divided Spain is taking place in a courtroom that is classic Spanish baroque, with marble columns and ornate flourishes. The seven judges preside on gilded, red-velvet chairs. The 12 defendants, all implicated in staging Catalonia’s independence referendum in October 2017, sit in a small gallery beneath them.

13 april 2019 – Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Alfred Bosch, addressed the European Committee of Regions’ (CoR) plenary session this Thursday. Certainly fundamental rights have been challenged in the whole of Europe, and in Spain as well” he warned the Committee members and called them to “put into Catalan citizens’ shoes.>We ask you to feel like we feel, we ask you to feel Catalan, we ask you to be Catalan, we ask you to act Catalan, he said.

8 april 2019 – The vast majority of protesters did not use violence against police during the Catalan independence referendum campaign, according to an independent report by a senior British police officer.The findings of Sir Hugh Orde, a former chief constable with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and expert on public order, contradict the narrative presented by the prosecution in the trial of 12 separatist leaders.

1 april 2019 – The Catalan independence trial observers from specially formed body International Trial Watch have today criticised a new legal obstacle from presiding judge Manuel Marchena. Specifically, they criticise his handling in the seventh week of the trial of police reports, and his refusal to compare the testimony of Civil Guard lieutenant colonel Daniel Baena with the reports he led the production of.

28 maart 2019 – How fair are the trials of Catalan pro-independence politicians? DW's Conflict Zone put this question to Spain's Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell. During the heated discussion, the politician walked off the set, but came back to finish the interview after speaking to his aides.

27 maart 2019 – The sedition charges against Catalan independence activists mark a shameful moment for Spanish democracy. Franco’s regime is long gone, but the state machine he created has not been fully broken.

16 maart 2019 – Thousands of Catalan separatist supporters marched in Madrid on Saturday in protest over the ongoing trial of 12 separatist leaders who face up to 25-year-prison sentences for their role in the failed independence bid.The demonstration through Spain's capital was organised by two civil society groups the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural and led by Catalan leader Quim Torra.Demonstrators waved the Catalan flag and marched under signs reading: ‘Self-determination is not a crime’.

16 maart 2019 – Tens of thousands of Catalan independence supporters have marched through central Madrid in protest at the trial of 12 separatist leaders who helped organise the failed bid for independence from Spain in 2017 and to renew their call for a vote on secession.

15 maart 2019 – To Mariano Rajoy, in his day, this idea of ‘judicializing politics’ - managing a political problem, such as that of Catalonia, through the courts - seemed a good one. Probably, he opted for the path knowing full well that, on the one hand, the public prosecutors could help him to ‘fine tune’ his propositions, and on the other, that the political establishment could, to paraphrase a famous leaked message, control the key courts ‘via the back door.’ However, what never occurred to him was that the situation might get out control because a group of madmen would cross the Pyrenees and engage him in battle on a level playing field and with an impartial referee.

14 maart 2019 – Spain is heading into an election on April 28 with the divisions created by Catalonia’s 2017 breakaway bid still raw -- and it’s not just the rift between separatists and the state that is shaping this campaign.Catalan society itself is split down the middle, much like Brexit Britain, and in the rest of the country tension is boiling between those backing reconciliation and hardliners demanding central government wield its power.

12 maart 2019 – At the request of International Trial Watch Jelle Klaas, NJCM’s Litigation director and human rights lawyer, observed the trials of some of the Catalan separatists and protest leaders before the Supreme Court in Madrid. Specifically, he observed the trials on 26, 27 and 28 February 2019 (with official translators) and he read the translated indictment.

12 maart 2019 – The last referendum in Catalonia, organized on 1st October 2017, was declared illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Tribunal and boycotted by those opposed to independence. 12 pro-independence politicians face trials in Madrid and some could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of violating Spanish laws.

10 maart 2019 – Another surprise from a political figure who has acquired something of an international reputation for them: exiled Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is to stand as a candidate to the European Parliament in the May 26th elections. While other exiled or jailed pro-independence leaders of Catalonia will also be running in the various elections in Catalonia this spring, it was the unexpected announcement that Puigdemont will head the JxCat (Together for Catalonia) candidacy for a place in the European chamber which generated an international media impact:

4 maart 2019 – Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has this Monday entered the European Parliament for the first time since he's been in exile to take part in the opening of an exhibition on the Catalan language. Also present were MEP Ramon Tremosa (PDeCAT) and the members of the government in exile Toni Comín, Lluís Puig, Meritxell Serret and Clara Ponsatí. Puigdemont's appearance was a surprise, his name not appearing on the list of attendees announced in advance.

4 maart 2019 – The trial against Catalan leaders in the Spanish Supreme Court carries a ‘high risk of violation of rights of freedom of expression, association and assembly’, according to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). ICJ Director of the Europe Regional Program, Róisín Pillay, also said a conviction against the twelve leaders on trial would send ‘a very unfortunate message, creating the perception this is a political process and undermining trust in the rule of law in Spain.’

4 maart 2019 – The Catalans come in droves, carrying separatist flags and cameras to photograph the nondescript brick house on a quiet road in the town where Napoleon suffered his final defeat more than two centuries ago. Some come bearing gifts — a painting, a bottle of wine. Others bring their children. They make the 650-mile trek to Belgium to visit the house’s occupant: former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, Spain’s best-known fugitive.

3 maart 2019 – Jelle Klaas (Amsterdam, 1980) is a lawyer and litigation director for the Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists (known in his country as the ‘Dutch Committee for Human Rights’). This week he has been present at the Supreme Court, in Madrid, where he had to queue as a member of the public to be able to perform the task of an international observer of the Catalan independence trial. But he successfully managed to obtain a place in the Madrid court and, although he points out that his vision is a preliminary one, admits to being ‘concerned’ as he leaves the courtroom.

2 maart 2019 – When seven men gathered in 1977 around a long green table in the Spanish Congress to write a Constitution for a new, democratic Spain, they spent a month, on and off, arguing over a single word.

1 maart 2019 – The Gürtel case began with one Madrid mogul. Over the next decade, it grew into the biggest corruption investigation in Spain’s recent history, sweeping up hundreds of corrupt politicians and businessmen – and shattering its political system.

25 februari 2019 – Watching the trials of the Catalan independentists now taking place at Spain’s highest court in Madrid, I have been reminded again and again of a scene from director Hal Ashby’s marvelous 1979 movie Being There.

20 februari 2019 – Spain’s King Felipe VI has said democracy is not above respecting the law, in unusually outspoken comments widely interpreted as refuting claims by Catalan independence leaders on trial in Madrid.It makes no sense, it’s unacceptable to appeal to a so-called democracy that is above the law, the monarch told an international congress of legal experts in Madrid.Without respect of the law, there is neither peaceful coexistence nor democracy, but insecurity, arbitrariness and ultimately, the collapse of the moral and civic principles of society.

19 februari 2019 – SIX international observers at the trial of Catalan pro-independence leaders have criticised the court for allowing some of the defendants’ rights to be ignored.In their report into the first week of the trial, which resumes today, they said members of the extreme-right Vox party were in charge of organising the crowds attempting to get into the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid.

18 februari 2019 – Junqueras and Romeva's lawyer accuses the court of ‘reducing the right to defence’.The lawyer entrusted with the defence of Oriol Junqueras and Raül Romeva, Andreu Van den Eynde, is not against the fact that the trial will not be suspended if it coincides with the electoral campaign because "there is not much margin", since it would lengthen the stay of the accused in prison.

18 februari 2019 – International Trial Watch has warned that ‘crucial’ evidence that was not admitted by the judges in the trial of Catalan independence leaders in Spain's Supreme Court could undermine the defendants' rights to a proper legal defense.
A report on the first week of the trial published on Monday by the platform of international observers also says that the missing evidence must be tracked throughout the trial so as to ensure that it does not end up affecting the defendants’ rights.

17 februari 2019 – The voice of the vice president of Catalonia, Oriol Junqueras, had not been heard for 469 days, since he was dismissed from his post and then remanded in custody on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds on 2 November 2017 by the Spanish High Court.

16 februari 2019 – Over 200,000 people marched through Barcelona today against the high-profile trial of Catalan independence leaders that started this week, according to Barcelona’s Guàrdia Urbana police. Organisers claim that 500,000 have taken part.‘Self-determination is not a crime,’ read one banner at the front of the protest led by Catalan president Quim Torra.

13 februari 2019 – John Bercow says MPs should have ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘immunity’ and remembers jailed leader Forcadell's visit. The speaker of the House of Commons at the UK Parliament, John Bercow, said that he would accept a debate on independence in the chamber. After a question by MP Hywel Williams, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia, Bercow said he would greenlight a discussion over a potential breakup of Wales.It is of course entirely orderly for there to be a debate in this house on Welsh independence, he stated. Members enjoy immunity for the words they utter in this chamber, and can come to no grief as a result of their freedom of expression.

13 februari 2019 – The trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders for holding what Spain deemed an illegal referendum is underway in Madrid. Nine are charged with rebellion and three face lesser charges of disobedience and misuse of public funds. Those accused of the most serious charges of rebellion could face up to 25 years in jail.

13 februari 2019 – Tensions on all sides are high in Spain as the trial of the century gets underway this week, with a dozen Catalan leaders facing charges of rebellion and sedition for promoting a 2017 independence referendum. But Catalonia’s attempt to break free and Spain’s reaction are relevant well beyond the country’s borders.

12 februari 2019 – The simmering conflict over Catalan independence roared back to the center of Spanish attention on Tuesday, as 12 people went on trial for their roles in the botched secession attempt of 2017, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez scrambled to keep the issue from toppling his government.

12 februari 2019 – Writing from his prison cell, the former vice-president of Catalonia knows he is facing a potential 25 years in prison for rebellion.Oriol Junqueras is one of a dozen former political leaders facing trial over his region's independence bid in October 2017. Some stand accused of a violent uprising – one they say never happened.There are no apologies – Mr Junqueras insists on his innocence, telling the BBC that the ‘trial is an action against an ideology and against political dissent’.It's a judgement on democracy, he said, and one which creates a dangerous precedent for all of Europe.

12 februari 2019 – The Spanish government’s handling of the Catalonian independence movement is worse than a human rights outrage; it is a mistake.The trial of a dozen separatist leaders on charges including “rebellion” and “sedition”, charges carrying sentences of up to 25 years in prison, ought to be unthinkable in country that is an established member of the European Union and a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights.

12 februari 2019 – The most important political trial in Catalonia’s recent history is about to begin in Madrid. The trial is against members of the former government of Catalonia, the speaker of the Catalan parliament at that time and the leaders of Catalonia’s two largest pro-independence civil society groups.

12 februari 2019 – Writing from his prison cell, the former vice-president of Catalonia knows he is facing a potential 25 years in prison for rebellion.Oriol Junqueras is one of a dozen former political leaders facing trial over his region's independence bid in October 2017. Some stand accused of a violent uprising – one they say never happened.

11 februari 2019 – Tomorrow, on 12 February 2019 the most momentous trial of Spanish recent history will start: The Supreme Court will adjudicate on the criminal liability of the leaders of the Catalan separatist movement for their actions with respect to the so-called independence referendum of 1 October 2017. But, for various reasons, the relevance of the trial goes much further. The formal vicissitudes of the entire process raise doubts about the impartiality of Spanish judiciary.

7 februari 2019 – On February 12, the trial of 12 Catalan politicians and social movement leaders involved in the October 1, 2017 independence referendum is set to begin in the Spanish Supreme Court. The leaders face sanctions as harsh as 25 year’s jail for their alleged offences — rebellion, sedition and embezzlement of public funds.

1 februari 2019 – Jordi Turull has written a letter to El Nacional describing his final hours in Lledoners prison in Catalonia and the transfer to Brians 2 prison this morning, where the male prisoners met again with Carme Forcadell and Dolors Bassa. They have all now just arrived in Madrid at the prisons they will be held in during their trial, expected to start in the coming days.

30 januari 2019 – Region ‘has a clear desire to be part of European project as we feel profoundly involved.’ Exiled Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has spoken of his hopes to return home and for Catalonia to join the European Union as an independent state. Speaking in the Republic of Ireland's capital Dublin, the separatist leader also said he wants the political conflict with Spain to be resolved ‘peacefully’.

28 januari 2019 – Spain’s judiciary, which critics say is too cozy with the country’s dominant political parties, will come under intense scrutiny in the coming months as its high court holds a politically explosive trial of Catalan independence leaders accused of rebellion and sedition.
The historic Madrid trial in the Supreme Court of Spain is expected to start on Feb. 5, or perhaps later, and last about three months, gathering testimony from hundreds of witnesses and experts. A ruling is expected in August, according to El País, a Spanish newspaper.

16 januari 2019 – Later this month, Madrid’s Supreme Court will be the setting in for Spain’s, and in some senses Europe’s, trial of the century. Those appearing are nine former holders of office of the Catalan regional government and parliament, which was in power between January 2016 and December 2017.They are charged with having organized, over a number of years, a rebellion against the Spanish Constitution of 1978 with the aim of achieving independence of Catalonia.

15 januari 2019 – Every two years we inaugurate a new Congressional session, and as we start anew there comes a new opportunity to make a difference -- to lead America in a new and better direction. I urge Congress, as it starts its new session, to do so on an international scale and recommit our nation to protecting human rights across the globe, specifically in Catalonia.Why focus on Catalonia, you may ask?

11 januari 2019 – After more than 14 months in pre-trial detention, Oriol Junqueras, the former vice president of the Catalan regional government, is set to go on trial January 22, 2019, in Madrid on charges of ‘rebellion, sedition, and misuse of public funds’ — for his central role in organizing the October 1, 2017, referendum on Catalonian independence. That referendum was disrupted by the intervention of Spanish riot police, who seized ballot boxes and dispersed voters in brutal actions, after the Spanish executive and judicial authorities had declared the vote illegal. An investigation by Human Rights Watch concluded that police used excessive force when confronting voters and demonstrators, hitting non-threatening protestors with batons and resulting in 893 reported injuries.

7 januari 2019 – One year has passed and Catalan politicians and social leaders are still in prison. The leaders responsible for the referendum of October 2017 have been kept in jail without bail or trial, accused of a rebellion that no one saw. If someone thought that this was a temporary state of affairs, that they would be released any time soon, reality has proven to be more durable than common sense.